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Reefer rush: Several vying to open as Boulder County's first rec pot shop

By Mitchell Byars, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
02/11/2014 08:00:03 PM MST

Updated:
02/11/2014 09:30:16 PM MST

The Canary's Song remains closed although it holds all the licenses it needs to sell recreational marijuana in Nederland. (Mark Leffingwell/Daily Camera)

What seemed like a one-horse race just a week ago to be the first recreational marijuana shop in Boulder County has suddenly tightened up down the stretch.

The Canary's Song in Nederland became the first dispensary in the county to obtain all the required licenses to open for recreational marijuana sale, and the shop closed Jan. 26 to prepare. But after planning to reopen in the first week of February as the first recreational marijuana shop in the county, the dispensary at 1 W. First St. remains closed.

Manager Katie Tayloe said a series of issues — not all of them directly related to the addition of recreational marijuana — have led to the delayed reopening.

"It's really just a bunch of little things," Tayloe said. "It's been a bit of a process."

Tayloe said one of the biggest issues has been getting product tags from the state, a problem that has also prevented the dispensary from selling medical marijuana. She said it's likely the dispensary will reopen selling medical marijuana before it starts selling recreational marijuana.

"It's still kind of in flux," she said. "We'll be posting an opening date as soon as we have one."

But depending on when that opening date is, the Nederland shop could lose the distinction of being the first recreational pot shop in Boulder County.

Karing Kind, off of Foothills Highway in an unincorporated area a mile north of Boulder, is scheduled to open Feb. 18.

And Terrapin Care Station owner Chris Woods last month said one of his dispensaries, at the corner of Folsom Street and Canyon Boulevard, was on pace to be licensed and open as a recreational shop by about Feb. 18. Woods could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but he previously said he was doing everything he could to prepare the Boulder shop for what he expects to be large crowds when it does open to the general public.

Karing Kind owner Dylan Donaldson said he is excited at the possibility of being the first to open in Boulder County.

"These are groundbreaking times, really," Donaldson said. "There are a lot of exciting opportunities as the movement of cannabis itself has taken speed. We believe in what we're doing, and we'd be excited to be the one to do this."

Donaldson said the process so far has been smooth.

"The county was great, the state has really got themselves together, and we are meticulous as a business anyway so we made sure we had all our ducks in a row to make this transition," Donaldson said. "We want to make it work and do our part by doing it right."

Boulder-based attorney Jeff Gard, who represents many marijuana businesses — including Karing Kind — said he thinks the first businesses to sell recreational marijuana will get an early boost.

"I think in the first week or two it is extremely important, since you will be the only game in town," Gard said. "I think there is going to be a fair amount of foot traffic."

Tayloe said while Canary's Song would like to be the first in the county to open, its main goal is to open as soon as possible.

"It would definitely be nice to be first, but we'll see what happens," she said. "We'll get going sooner rather than later."

She said the dispensary has been hearing from customers who were hoping for the store to open earlier this month.

"Yeah, we've been getting messages and a tons of phone calls," she said. "We know people are eagerly awaiting this, and we're working on it."

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